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Six Questions to Consider When Selecting a Learning Management System

Selecting the right learning management system (LMS) is an important decision for every financial services organization.

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Selecting the right learning management system (LMS) is an important decision for every financial services organization; it can make or break an organization’s training plans. But it doesn’t have to be difficult.

BAI has been in the financial services industry for almost 100 years and annually helps more than 2,200 financial services organizations with their compliance training programs. We recommend financial service organizations consider the following six questions when selecting a learning management system.

1. Is the LMS designed for the type of education you will be delivering?

Effective training comes in all shapes and sizes—and your learning management system should be able to accommodate them. Learners expect a comprehensive experience where they can complete an asynchronous online learning module, register for an instructor-led training session, and have just-in-time access to important resources. Beyond those basics, a learning management system also should give organizations the ability to provide structure and sequencing around content. This can take the form of grouping courses together in a curriculum, mapping content to skills/competencies, and enforcing prerequisites. With time being such a precious resource, learners should spend theirs engaging with training content instead of browsing expansive catalogs or trying to guess if they are taking the correct training.

2. Can the LMS integrate with other key technologies?

Businesses require a multitude of different online tools to be successful, and every additional tool can add unexpected time to both managing and synchronizing information. A bestin-class learning management system should be able to easily integrate into existing business architecture. For example, rather than manually adding every new user, an integration could be created between the LMS and human resources information system (HRIS). This not only cuts down on time spent on user management, but also ensures data consistency across systems. The next logical integration would be to offer users single sign-on (SSO) from an existing account. This improves the user experience by quickly providing system access while reducing the amount of credentials needed. A learning management system should also integrate with an organization’s existing technology stack. Does your organization require employees to use a certain browser? Better ensure that the LMS supports it and will continue to do so in the future. Content can take many forms in an alphabet soup of file types that require support. An LMS should not only be able to handle eLearning staples like SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, AICC and xAPI but also provide a rich multimedia experience using MP3s, MP4s, PDF files and external URLs.

3. Will the LMS reporting meet your needs?

Implementing a learning management system—having users log in and complete content—is only half the battle. A real test of an LMS is how the system tracks the various data points of the user experience and provides them in real-time. Reporting modules should be able to clearly articulate the entire completion journey: what training was required, who assigned it and when, when the training was due, when it was completed, what the completion requirements were, and if the user met those requirements. Beyond this basic outlook, an LMS should be tracking user interactions with content beyond courses and be able to parse through course metadata to provide actionable insights.

4. Is the LMS designed for your industry needs?

Many industries require specific training on areas of regulation and compliance. Would anyone want an auditor standing behind them impatiently tapping their foot while they try to collate completion data from multiple spreadsheets? The answer is a resounding “No!” The ideal LMS for an organization is going to include features that ease regulatory burdens for both learners and administrators. Every organization has annual training requirements. Once that training is identified, the system should provide an engine to quickly push the correct training to the correct people. It’s easy for learners to lose track of required training among the details of their day-to-day responsibilities. This is where an LMS like BAI’s can shine by providing multiple due date reminders to encourage completion and reduce the number of manual emails sent (which, invariably, someone will accidentally reply-all to).

5. Will the LMS engage learners?

The average learner is balancing multiple responsibilities and wants to quickly and efficiently log in to the LMS, recognize what is required of them, and complete it to their organization’s satisfaction before tackling the next item on their to-do list. After logging in, learners should be met with a modern-looking user interface. The first homepage or dashboard needs to be well laid out and provide learners with an easily digestible view of what is expected of them. Getting from the homepage to required content should involve a minimal number of clicks. Next, if learners are self-motivated enough to seek out additional training, they should be able to navigate to a robust catalog and easily filter results by their desired criteria to find exactly what they are interested in. Content in the catalog should be properly categorized and supply relevant information such as topic area, expected completion time, and content type.

6. Does the LMS provide value where you need it?

The value of a learning management system can only be assessed by comparing its features to an organization’s requirements. It is often beneficial to decide on desired outcomes/requirements and work backwards. The market is bursting at the seams with LMS options— drowning out the noise and focusing on requirements can be difficult. One area to investigate with all potential systems is cost. While many solutions offer lower up-front or per user cost options, these should be weighed heavily against the support offered and scalability of the solution for future use cases. Choosing an LMS based on cost alone can lead to hours of manual administration and ongoing stress. Many HRIS providers offer streamlined solutions as part of a bundle that meets basic requirements, but they fall short when it comes to regulatory reporting and integrations.

A learning management system designed for the financial services industry should do more than just display the course content. It should make assigning the right courses to the right learners easy. It should encourage learners to complete required training before the due date. It should track learner activity and report on the key data requested by regulators. The best learning manager software is about more than teaching—it’s about encouraging engagement and providing opportunities for growth. It should be tailored to specific skills of interest and professional development planning. For more information on how a best-in-class LMS designed for the financial services industry can help your organization, contact BAI here: info.bai.org/training-request-a-demo